One way or another, William F. Halsey III was bound to travel and see the world.

A failed vision exam discouraged him from following family tradition and pursuing a career in the Navy, but a travel tours business he founded in 1964 proved a perfect fit for his adventurous nature.

"It allowed him to do what he loved most: travel and make friends around the world," his daughter, Jane Halsey, said.

Mr. Halsey, who operated Halsey Tours and Cruises for more than 30 years, died Tuesday at his home in La Jolla. He was 88.

Increasingly frail in recent months, he died of natural causes, his wife, Helga, said.

The son of Fleet Adm. William F. "Bull" Halsey Jr., Mr. Halsey had hoped to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. Failure to pass the vision test led him down a different path, and he graduated with a history degree in 1938 from Princeton University.

Early in World War II, when induction requirements were modified to meet manpower needs, Mr. Halsey left a sales position with DuPont Co. in Wilmington, Del., to join the Navy.

Accepted for duty, he was assigned to the Pacific as a supply officer and served on the aircraft carrier Saratoga. At times, he delivered documents to his father's headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia.

During his Pacific tour, Mr. Halsey found himself stranded on a remote island near Noumea after the plane in which he was riding ran out of fuel. The pilot made a forced landing on a coral reef just off shore.

Mr. Halsey and 11 crew members were rescued by U.S. aircraft a few days later. Aside from bananas, there was little to eat on the island.

"After this, Dad never ate another banana in his life," Jane Halsey said.

Mr. Halsey left active duty in 1946 in Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant commander.

He worked in various sales positions in New York before settling in La Jolla in 1950.

"He had fallen in love with San Diego when he was staying at the Hotel del Coronado for R and R during World War II," Jane Halsey said.

Mr. Halsey purchased a lot at La Jolla Shores and designed his home, which he lived in for more than 50 years.

For several years, Mr. Halsey marketed coin-operated washers and dryers in apartment buildings throughout San Diego. Eventually, he entered the travel business and established a relationship with People to People, an organization founded by President Eisenhower to promote peace and understanding worldwide.

From five to seven times a year, Mr. Halsey organized People to People sports tours that took groups of 25 to 30 people throughout the world. He served from 1987 to 1991 on the People to People Sports Committee.

In June, Mr. Halsey's Princeton University alma mater, recognizing his contributions to international relations through People to People sports, presented him with a distinguished service award.

"He loved Princeton," Jane Halsey said. "It was a dream come true for him when his youngest daughter, Heidi, graduated from Princeton in one of the first female classes at the university."

From 1988 to 1991, Mr. Halsey served on the board of trustees for The Bishop's School in La Jolla, which all three of his daughters and a grandson attended.

In 1991, he established the Admiral Halsey Scholarship Fund in honor of his father to provide educational opportunities to underprivileged children.

Mr. Halsey was born in Annapolis, Md., during his father's two-year assignment in the Executive Department of the U.S. Naval Academy.

At age 7, he accompanied his family to Berlin, where his father served as naval attache to the U.S. Embassy.

Mr. Halsey's father, the son of a Navy captain, was promoted to admiral in November 1942 and became fleet admiral – the fourth and last officer to hold that rank – in December 1945. He died in 1959, 12 years after retiring from the Navy.

Mr. Halsey's first wife, Maryjane Halsey, from whom he was divorced, died in October 2000.

Survivors include his second wife, Helga Halsey; daughters, Jane Halsey of Newport Beach, Anne Halsey Smith of La Jolla and Heidi Halsey of Los Angeles; and a grandson.